There’s the magic and then there’s mechanics.
The magic is what we’re always trying to create. The thing that drew us in in the first place.
You want that ‘wow’ moment when the curtain comes up on the show you’re writing.
You want the flow of an electric classroom where students are fizzing and learning is bouncing in all directions.
You want that feeling of presence in the scene where the audience forgets they’re watching two actors.
This is the magic.
Then there’s the mechanics. There’s the hours of drafting, re-drafting and editing the play. There’s learning the editing software. There’s drilling the acting technique. It’s boring. Its laborious. It’s unforgiving.
But it’s necessary. You can’t have one without the other.
The trick, I think, is to keep the magic alive while you’re in the trenches.
Keep the vision alive of the curtain coming up when you’re reworking a scene for the 37th time.
If we can do that, we’ll get through the mechanics and one day (soon) you’ll get to pop the champagne.
